


A Christmas Fairytale

by anecdotalist



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Elf!Harry, Elf!Zayn, Human!Liam, M/M, elf!Louis, elf!Niall, unbeta'd just to warn you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 15:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2855438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anecdotalist/pseuds/anecdotalist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam's car breaks down on Christmas eve and he finds himself meeting elves and learning all about Santa. And then of course, there's Zayn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Christmas Fairytale

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, barely posting it before Christmas is over! I suck at summaries but I hope you like it! It's just a fluff-filled Christmas ficlet. Merry X-mas! :)

"And all I want for Christmas is youuuuuuu."

It was only him and Loki on this dark empty stretch of road so Liam let himself belt out the lyrics along with Mariah. From the backseat, Loki chimed in with a heartfelt howl and Liam glanced at him through the rearview mirror to see him swaying a bit - either in time with the music or with the movement of the car, he couldn't tell. He grinned anyway.

"That's right, Loki, it's Christmas! And soon we'll be home and sitting in front of the fire and eating grandma's cookies fresh from the oven!" It had been a rough week for Liam, capped off with a morning shift on Christmas eve but with any luck, and some overnight driving, he'd be able to make it to Wolverhampton and surprise his family by morning.

_Put-put-pufffftttttt_

Liam groaned as the engine puttered out and the car slowly glided to a stop. "Nooo, why, baby? Come on, just a couple more weeks and then I'll have my end of year bonus and then I can get you fixed up..." he muttered, turning the key in the ignition. The engine coughed but never quite turned over. After several frustrating attempts, he sighed and sank back into his seat. Loki whined and leaned his head forward to rest it against his shoulder; Liam reached back and scratched him behind his ear. "It's okay, Loki. Just a minor set-back. I'll just dial for roadside assistance. I just hope someone's willing to come out tonight." He reached for his phone to do just that and was dismayed to see that he had no service.

"No service?! How is that even possible these days?"

He sighed and got out into the cold, popping the hood of the car and peering inside. He'd taken a mechanics elective in school but that was years ago and he had little faith in his ability to fix a car now, even if he could identify what was wrong with it. He frowned down at the engine, feeling puzzled. There wasn't anything obviously wrong with any of the parts - nothing leaking, no smoke coming from any of the components.

He looked up and down the still-empty stretch of road, hoping for someone to come along who either could fix the car or give him a lift into town. But no one came by.

Suddenly, he noticed a light bobbing through the trees lining the side of the road and he stepped warily back, putting the car between him and whoever the newcomer was. The light continued its weaving advance and gradually, a slim figure detached itself from the shapes of the trees. As the person came closer, Liam saw with some relief that it was a young man, slightly slimmer than he, with bright blue eyes and short flyaway hair carrying a lantern above his head. He didn't look like a crazy serial killer woodsman.

"Hi there, looks like you need some help?" the man called out.

"Yeah, just having some car trouble, mate," Liam replied guardedly. "You know how to fix cars?"

The other man shook his head vehemently. "No way, not my thing. But I live in a village just down that way," he said, gesturing behind him into the line of trees. "And I've got a friend who can fix anything. If you come with me, I'm sure he'd be happy to help." By now, the other man was standing just on the other side of the car, one arm still holding the lantern up high, the other held casually out at his side. 

Liam took a quick glance and he didn't _look_ like he was armed with anything he could use to kill him. He checked on Loki still inside the car and the dog was watching the stranger calmly; Liam wanted to believe that was a good sign but Loki tended to like everyone and he wasn't sure that his dog would discriminate against serial killers if they ever came across one.

However, even though his mind was screaming at him to distrust this person and was throwing up every horror movie he had ever seen which started out with this exact scenario, his gut was telling him that this guy was okay and wouldn't try to kill him. He gave a mental shrug and figured that by now, he was probably screwed anyway; even if he tried to run, he probably wouldn't get very far in the woods in the dark and trudging through snow.

"Sure, alright. Let me just get my things."

The other man smiled. "Great! My name's Louis. Nice to meet you!"

"Liam." Liam nodded shortly at Louis and then ducked inside to grab his heavy-duty flashlight from the glove compartment. It wasn't much but if anything, he could use it to knock Louis out and make an escape. He then let Loki out and the dog hopped out, giving himself a shake and then looking up expectantly at Liam. Liam smiled, attached his leash to his collar, locked the doors to his car and closed the hood, and then turned to Louis who had been waiting impatiently at the edge of the woods.

"Ready?" At Liam's nod, Louis started gingerly picking his way among the tree roots. "It gets a little hard to see in here so just follow my tracks and walk where I walk, okay? I don't want you falling and twisting an ankle or anything."

Liam did as instructed and Louis filled the silence of their walk - mostly with small talk about the weather and how busy everyone was this time of year. Liam nodded and hummed in agreement but stayed quiet for the most part, reluctant to share any personal information with this stranger and finding that he had to concentrate to avoid tripping on the roots and rocks that seemed to pop up unexpectedly through the layer of snow on the ground.

He didn't even realize that the light was gradually getting stronger until Louis stopped and cleared his throat. When Liam looked up, Louis gestured grandly at the gates of a brightly lit village. Liam gaped. There were cobblestone streets, lampposts emitting soft yellow light, picturesque cottages with shingled roofs and white window shutters. Children were running around and laughing, pulling little sleds through the streets and dodging around adults who wandered in and out of brightly lit stores. He shook his head but the image remained unchanged; Liam felt like he was staring at the scenery in a snowglobe brought to life.

"What is this place?" he asked wonderingly.

"It's home," Louis answered simply. "Come on, if we hurry, we can still catch Zayn - he's the guy I told you about, the one who could fix anything - before he gets wrapped up in other things."

Liam followed Louis through the gates and along the streets, feeling bemused when the other man started calling out "Zayn! Zayn, where are you?" Liam got a few curious, but friendly, looks from everyone which he just tried to answer with a polite smile and wave. 

A passerby stopped Louis and pointed further into the village. "I saw him at the town square just a few minutes ago."

"Thanks!" With that, Louis grabbed his wrist and tugged him through a couple of alleys and down some streets. They emerged in what Liam supposed was the town square - there was a fountain in the middle and an ornate building front on one end proclaiming it to be "City Hall;" other nondescript buildings lined the three other sides and they were all dark and unoccupied. However, the square itself was bustling with people and enormous piles of wrapped boxes. At one end of the square were three carriages, each of which were hooked to a pair of horses wearing antlers on their heads and bells around their necks. There was a man hunkered down next to one of them, talking softly to it. Liam blinked in surprise when the horse tilted its head at the man and then whinnied as if it was actually listening and responding.

While Louis scanned the square intently, presumably looking for this Zayn person, Liam watched as people moved between the piles of boxes, picking up certain boxes, checking the labels and then either putting them back down or moving them to another pile.

"Louis! _There_ you are!" A slender, tanned man around Louis' age popped up nearly right in front of them. He had what looked like a paintbrush tucked behind one ear and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "One of the 'reindeers'," he said, using two fingers of each hand to form air quotes, "has developed a fear of flying and is refusing to go. Harry's trying to talk him down now." He paused for a second, then added wryly, "No pun intended."

"Zayn!" Louis exclaimed, throwing one arm around Zayn's shoulder and turning him towards Liam. "This is Liam! He's a guest!"

Liam held out his hand for a shake but to his great surprise, Zayn instead squeaked and clapped both hands over his mouth, eyes going wide. He jumped back and then turned to Louis, frantically grabbing hold of his sleeve and pulling him even further back. Louis threw Liam an apologetic glance and shrugged. Liam gave a mental shrug and jammed both hands into his pockets. He tilted his head just a bit and strained to hear the other two's conversation, curiosity eating him alive about Zayn's reaction to him.

"Louis! What are you doing?! He can't be here!" Zayn hissed.

"Relax, I've got it under control."

" _Under control?!_ Louis, he's human! A human hasn't been here in centuries!"

"Exactly. He's _human._ Harry hasn't met anyone who's human besides his mother and he's always saying how he's so curious about them."

Zayn pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you, what? Kidnapped a human for Harry to play with?"

Liam felt a shrill of alarm run through him. Kidnapped?

"Well," Louis said, dragging one foot back and forth along the cobblestone. "I wouldn't say kidnapped, exactly."

Zayn groaned. "I don't have time for this right now. This is the worst possible night for this, Lou. What am I even going to do with him while you guys are gone?"

Louis waved one hand carelessly. "I'm sure you'll think of something. Now come on, before he thinks we're total weirdos." With that, Louis returned with a bright smile, Zayn trudging along behind him, grumbling under his breath. "Sorry about that, Liam. Just a little tiff between friends, you know how it is." Liam nodded slowly, wondering if he should try to make a break for it. If this was a kidnapping, though, it was the strangest one he had ever heard of. "Anyway, Zayn here's our Artist!" Louis announced with enough emphasis on the last word that Liam could hear the capital letters.

"Only one of them," Zayn chimed in, seeming to be still a little sullen.

"He's the best one," Louis qualified.

"Louis only likes me because I get roped into all of his crazy schemes."

"Please, you know your life would be terribly boring without me."

At this, Zayn finally cracked a grin. "True enough."

"So Zayn will be able to fix your, what did you call it, a car?" 

"Yes, my car," Liam confirmed. They didn't know about cars here? He kept his thoughts to himself but his mind was racing. What kind of place was this?

"Hm..." Zayn scratched his chin in thought. "I don't know anything about those but I can take a look at it anyway. It'll have to wait till morning, though, if that's okay. We're a little busy right now."

Liam glanced around at all the people scurrying to and fro and said, "Yeah, I can see that. What's going on here?"

"Oh, just getting things ready for delivery. Louis, why don't you show him the rink? I'll send Harry over. Just make sure you get back here on time!"

Just then, Loki started yipping at Zayn and all of them glanced down to see him wagging his tail fervently.

"Oh, you have a dog!" Zayn exclaimed and Liam looked up to see that he had brightened considerably. Zayn knelt down and buried his fingers in Loki's fur, ruffling it and scratching him behind his ears and around his neck. "Hey there, buddy, what's your name?"

Liam was about to answer but Loki gave a series of short barks and Zayn nodded seriously. "Loki, huh? That's a good name." Liam was taken aback. How did Zayn know that? It didn't even look like he had looked at Loki's nametag. He must know some sleight of hand, Liam decided. Then Zayn continued, still addressing Loki directly. "Hey, are you hungry? What do you want to eat?"

Liam looked up at Louis questioningly and the other man shrugged and whispered, "He loves dogs."

Zayn appeared to ignore them and was instead listening intently to Loki's barked answer. He nodded, then took the paintbrush from his ear. Liam saw that the bristles were covered in gold glitter. When Zayn twirled it, seemingly aimlessly, just a few inches above the ground, a trail of glitter followed. Liam watched in fascination as the glitter kept the formation and hovered in the air until Zayn flipped the brush over and tapped the end of it against the edge of the shape he had drawn out. Then a white light spread from that point of contact out along the rest of the glitter and gradually, Liam could see the shape of a combination food and drink bowl. Once the light had encircled the entire shape, a dark blue color seeped in from the edges and met in the middle. The whole thing gave one last sparkle and then dropped down into the snow. 

Liam gasped in shock but Zayn didn't notice, just picking it up and holding it up for inspection, turning it this way and that and finally nodded with a short "hmph, I guess it'll do." He took his brush again and scribbled out L-O-K-I in fancy script along the face of the bowl, then took one of Loki's paws, painted a layer of glitter over it, and pressed it against the bowl next to his name. When he took Loki's paw away, a gold pawprint remained. 

"Oh my God, how did you do that?!" Liam asked in amazement.

Zayn looked up at him mildly. "I'm an Artist. That's what we do." He presented the food bowl to Loki and asked "What do you think?"

"But is that magic or something? How was that possible?" Liam asked, bewildered. Meanwhile, Loki tilted his head and regarded the bowl solemnly before giving a nod and a tail wag. He leaned his face in towards Zayn's and licked a stripe up the man's cheek, causing him to giggle and shrug away. Against his better judgment, Liam found himself enchanted by the sound of that giggle and the look of pure happiness on his face.

Zayn hopped back up, tucking his brush behind his ear once again and looking around. "Niall!" He called out suddenly and a blond head turned. Zayn gestured and the other man made his way over, finishing off a sugar cookie and wiping his hands on his trousers. "Eating already? Shouldn't you save room for later?"

The other man - Niall, Liam presumed - shrugged with a grin. "There's always room for milk and cookies. What's up? Hey Lou, where've you been, mate?"

"Out collecting strays, apparently," Zayn answered drily. "This is Loki," he introduced, waving down at Loki. He then clasped Liam's shoulder and continued, "and his human, Liam."

Niall's eyes widened. Liam smiled uncertainly, getting a weird vibe about this place again. Why was everyone making a big deal out of him being human?

Niall opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Zayn shoved the food bowl at him and he automatically raised his hands to hold it. "Could you do us a favor and fill that for Loki? He says he's not too picky so just get him a mix. Don't worry," he said, looking down and addressing Loki again, "Niall loves to eat and he always knows where the best food is." Looking back up at Niall, he said "Louis' gonna take them to the rink and Harry's gonna meet them there. I've got to go get everything ready for take-off." As Niall nodded with an easy grin, Zayn jogged off, calling back "Bye Liam, bye Loki, it was nice to meet you! I'll see you soon! Louis, don't be late!"

"Yeah, yeah," Louis called back. Then he turned to Liam with a small grimace. "Don't mind him, Zayn's a little high strung."

At this, Niall barked out a laugh. "Yeah, and it's not like you make things harder for him or anything."

"Hush, you, and go get some food for Loki."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Niall said with a mocking salute to Louis before melting back into the crowd.

"What exactly is this place?" Liam asked Louis but the other man just turned and started making his way through the crowd and he had to hurry to keep him in sight. "Louis, wait! Tell me what's going on here! Why am I here?"

Louis glanced back over his shoulder with a bright smile. "You're here because your car broke down, remember? Now come on, I want to show you the rink before I have to go!" With that, he pushed more determinedly through the crowd, Liam and Loki trailing behind.

They soon arrived at a large ice skating rink, filled with mostly children and young adults spinning around gracefully. Liam hesitated while Louis went to the attendant and returned with a couple pairs of shoes. "What's the matter?" Louis asked.

"I'm not a very great skater," Liam said. "Maybe I shouldn't do this."

"Oh, don't worry. The point of skating isn't to do the spins and jumps and all that. It's to fall down painfully on your face!" Louis said with a bright smile. Liam looked at him suspiciously but couldn't detect any sign of disingenuity.

"Have people told you that all your life?" he asked.

Louis looked thoughtful. "Well, I think for most of it, people had said I probably shouldn't skate. But I think anything that's worth doing is going to involve a bit of pain."

"You were dropped on your head as a child, weren't you?" Liam concluded.

Louis looked confused. "No, why would you say that?"

Just then, another figure came bounding up to them with a cheerful smile and wave. "Hey Louis! Zayn sent me to find you! How's it going?"

Louis grinned brightly. "Harry! Great timing. I was just telling Liam here about falling in ice skating!"

Harry turned and nodded somberly. "It's an art form. Not everyone can do it gracefully, but you're not really trying unless you fall."

Liam raised an eyebrow and started really questioning whether he wanted to be spending time with these people. "I see..."

"Liam here is a guest for tonight!" Louis announced and Harry's eyes widened in delight.

"Hi Liam! Welcome to our village! We don't get a lot of guests. What do you think so far?" Harry asked, reaching out and grabbing Liam's hand, giving it a vigorous and painfully strong handshake.

"It's very...nice," Liam said with a tight smile, gently extracting his hand and trying to unobtrusively shake it out.

"Sorry, was that too strong?" Harry asked anxiously. "I thought I did it right."

"No, it's fine, mate," Liam reassured, reminding himself of his manners even while he was hoping to steal away for a bit to check for any breaks in his bones and massage the muscles in his hands to soothe out the ache.

"Great, now that you've shaken hands, let's put on our shoes and get out there!" Louis urged, distributing skates to all three of them.

"Oh, what size are these?" he asked. Louis and Harry both gave him blank looks. "You know, shoe size? To make sure that they're the right ones for me?"

"Don't worry, they'll fit. just try them on," Louis said. Harry nodded in agreement and promptly plopped down on the ground to slip out of his boots and into the skates.

Liam was still hesitant - how was it possible to make shoes that fit everyone? He gingerly slipped his foot into one of the shoes and pulled the strings to tighten them. Then he yelped as the shoe seemed to _shrink_ until it fit snugly around his foot.

Harry looked over. "What's wrong? Are they too tight? Louis, you didn't give him prank skates, did you?"

Louis looked affronted. "Me? Why would I do such a thing?"

Harry rolled his eyes. 

Liam watched the exchange in bewilderment. "This is normal?! This, this shoe shrinking to my exact size? How is that possible?"

Once again, Harry and Louis looked at him blankly. "I don't know, mate. It's just how it is," Louis finally said. "What's the alternative? That we make shoes in every possible size and keep them in stock for when someone of that exact size needs it? What a waste of space!"

"But is it magic or something?" Liam asked, feeling desperate for any kind of answer.

Louis looked thoughtful. "I guess from a human's perspective, that's the closest thing. But not all of us can do it. And some of us can only do a certain amount. Like, I can hide things and pull them out again from midair. Ages ago, that was useful for battles but those are long over. It's more of a party trick to entertain children now. Or if I have a lot to carry and not enough hands to carry them."

"I've got no talent with it at all," Harry chimed in, not looking at all bothered by this.

"And Zayn can create things, as you saw."

"So what are you guys, if not humans?" Liam asked, unsure if he really even wanted to know the answer.

"I'm half human," Harry offered.

"And half...?"

"Elven," Louis answered. "That's what you'd call us."

"Elven," Liam repeated, feeling faint and bordering on hysterical. "Like in Lord of the Rings?"

"Kind of," Harry beamed. "Less like Santa's elves in all those Christmas movies you guys like to make."

"Definitely not like the ones in those films about that boy wizard," Louis scowled.

"I think I need to sit down," Liam said.

"You already are, mate," Louis said gently, looking concerned now. "Are you okay? Do you need a minute? Maybe we shouldn't be skating if you're not feeling well."

Liam shook his head, not knowing what to say. Was he dreaming? This felt so real, though. But how could it be? Elves and magic? Surely it must be a dream. "Pinch me," he requested, holding his arm up. Louis and Harry exchanged a quick glance, then Harry shrugged, reached down and did as he asked. "Ow!" Liam yelped, rubbing the spot on his forearm where Harry had pinched him. Not a dream, then.

As if able to sense his distress, Loki came over and rested his head on Liam's lap, looking up at him with wide eyes. Liam ran his fingers through his fur and took steadying breaths. "You're taking this much better than me," he told the dog. Loki blinked at him.

"Animals have a pretty strong connection with the world. They generally know what's what," Louis said.

Liam looked up, brow furrowed in thought. "Are you saying that my dog has always known about the existence of magic? And elves?"

"Well, kind of. He can't do magic. But most dogs are pretty good at being able to sense danger and navigating around it. Or confronting it, I suppose, depending on their personalities."

"I always thought that was just instinct."

"It is. It's instinct backed by magical information."

"Sorry, but are we gonna skate or what?" Harry broke in, looking longingly at the rink. "Because I was really looking forward to getting some skating in before we have to go."

Louis glanced down questioningly at Liam and Liam shook his head. He was still reeling too much from the revelations to be able to concentrate on skating. "Why don't you go ahead, Harry. I'll stay with Liam."

"You don't have to!" Liam protested, feeling bad about ruining their plans.

"Of course I do! What kind of a host would I be if I just left you here after giving you life-changing news?"

Liam shrugged.

"Go on, Harry. But be quick! Zayn will kill us if we're late!" Harry nodded and left to join the crowd on the ice. "Let's get you back in your boots," Louis said to Liam gesturing to the one skate Liam had put on. He looked down, startled. He had completely forgotten about that. But he nodded and undid the laces, switching out the skate for his boot.

While Louis went to return the skates, the blond guy from earlier bounded up to Liam and Loki, brandishing the food and water bowl that Zayn had created. "Hey there! Loki, right? Here's your food!" he exclaimed, presenting the bowl to Loki with a flourish. Loki perked up and went over to examine its contents. From what Liam could see, it was piled high with juicy pieces of steak and chicken. The water portion of it was filled with clear sparkling water. "I got the food from one of my favorite pubs. And the water's from our freshwater spring. Dig in!" he said, setting the bowl down. Looking at Liam, he waved. "Hiya! I'm Niall, in case you didn't catch it before. Nice to meet'cha!"

Liam nodded and smiled uneasily. "So you're an elf too?"

"Hmm," Niall hummed, looking thoughtful. He shrugged. "I guess that's what you'd call us."

"What do you call yourselves, then?" 

Niall answered with a melodic phrase that Liam had no hope of replicating.

"...I see," he said when he really didn't see at all.

"Yup. Where did the others go?" Niall looked around curiously.

Liam gestured at the rink and then over at the attendant stand, where Louis had apparently gotten caught up in conversation. "Harry went skating. And Louis went to return our skates. I wasn't feeling up to skating, really."

Niall's eyes brightened. "Well, you're in for a treat. Come on," he said, gesturing for Liam to step up next to him at the border of the rink. He scanned the skaters and pointed out Harry in the middle of the crowd. "Harry's a great skater."

Liam frowned, remembering their earlier conversation about falls. "But doesn't he fall a lot?"

Niall nodded. "But only when he's pushing himself to do new tricks. Just watch."

Liam trained his eyes on Harry's figure, following him as he glided across the ice, tucked himself into various turns and spins, and threw himself into the air for a couple of jumps. He also picked up kids who skated up to him, lifting them up and spinning around before setting them giggling back down on the ice.

"The kids all love him," Louis said, joining them at the edge of the rink and balancing a couple of cups of hot chocolate which he handed off to Niall and Liam.

They stayed like that for a bit, sipping their drinks and watching the skaters. The whole scene felt surreal to Liam, especially because it felt so _normal_. Except that everyone was an elf. While Niall and Louis were engaged in a heated discussion over who was a better skater - Louis was saying a girl who looked to be about fifteen who kept falling but getting right back up and Niall was arguing in favor of a boy who looked like he was thirteen who was graceful but not as adventurous with his tricks - Liam surreptitiously peered at their ears and yup, they were just a bit pointed at the top. Not enough to be glaringly obvious in dim light but definitely different from humans.

Off in the distance, a bell chimed several times.

"That's our cue!" Louis said. As if everyone had heard him, all the skaters started making their way to the exit, changing their shoes and returning their skates. Louis and Niall threw out their empty cups and waited expectantly. Loki came over, carrying his empty food dish in his mouth.

"Here, boy, I'll take that," Liam said, taking hold of the dish which Loki relinquished easily. He held it out questioningly to Niall who shook his head.

"Nah, that's his to keep."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, I guess," Liam said, glancing down at Loki who headbutted him gently.

Once Harry made his way back to them, they set off for the town square. This time, though, it seemed like everyone in the village was heading there as well. When they arrived, it was even more brightly lit than before, but less chaotic. A strip down the middle had been cleared and roped off. At one end were three open carriages, each connected to a set of chestnut colored horses who were, Liam confirmed with another glance, wearing antlers. A couple of them shifted their feet impatiently and Liam was surprised to see them all wearing some kind of winged shoes. At the back of each carriage sat large red velvet bags tied off at the tops. Liam glanced around the square and sure enough, the previous three piles of boxes were all gone; packed into those bags, he suspected.

When he followed Louis, Niall, and Harry over to where Zayn and a gaggle of elves stood holding up thick red coats and white fur lining, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place to form a picture he had a lot of trouble believing, even given everything he had already discovered this evening.

"Are you Santa?!" he asked incredulously as Louis slipped his arms into one of the coats.

Louis opened his mouth to launch into an explanation but Zayn cut him off. "It's a bit of a long story, mate. I'll fill you in later but we've got to get them launched or else they won't make it in time."

"Oh, uh, okay," Liam said. Just how many things was he going to find out about tonight? He watched as the others finished getting dressed in their coats and hats. He thought that even after they were all bundled up, though, they didn't quite look like Santa Claus.

"Now remember, the humans have a 'Track Santa' thing going these days so make sure you're not seen at multiple places at the same time. Use these to communicate," Zayn instructed briskly, handing out small earpieces which the others dutifully put in. 

He also gave each of them a small round clear bag filled with what looked like white glittery sand. "Use this sparingly. Only if you're seen!" The others nodded, pocketing the bags. 

"Put any cookies you don't want to eat into these bags and bring them back," he added, handing out small red velvet bags. 

Niall looked doubtful as he took his bag and Liam thought it was because the bag would be too small but Zayn said, "Niall, if you think you can eat all the cookies you find, you're welcome to try. But I don't want you sicking up on the side of the road this year like last year, okay? Pace yourself." Niall nodded, looking determined. Liam was pretty sure he was going to try to eat as much as he could now. Zayn seemed to think so too because he just sighed. "Alright, just get into your carriages. Louis, you're taking off first. Fly fast, Christmas day is almost dawning in Asia."

Louis nodded and made his way to the carriage with the most restless horses. "Hey Comet, hey Dasher! Ready? Let's see if we can beat our record." Both horses nodded and snorted, throwing their heads back. Louis laughed and hopped up onto the seat, guiding them to one end of the strip. Liam saw now that the other end of the strip ended in a gently sloped ramp. 

"Clear the runway!" Louis shouted.

Everyone who had lined up at the ropes to watch the proceedings stepped back.

The horses - Comet and Dasher, apparently - started trotting down, gradually picking up speed in perfect sync. The wings on their shoes started flapping. They charged up the ramp and glided into the air, gaining speed and height very quickly until they became just a speck in the star-filled sky.

Liam gaped.

The crowd around him gave a big cheer.

"Okay Harry, you're up," Zayn announced and Liam brought his attention back to the group. Harry gave a small salute and skipped over to one of the carriages.

"Hiya Vicky! Cupid!" he greeted the horses.

"Only Harry," Zayn muttered. Noticing Liam's curious look, Zayn clarified, "Her name's actually Vixen. She hates when anyone gives her a nickname. Except for Harry. She's always had a soft spot for him." Raising his voice, he called out, "Remember not to turn off the invisibility until you get confirmation from Louis that he's done one full round!"

Harry nodded and guided Vixen and Cupid to take their place on the runway. When they had taken off, with another loud cheer from the crowd, Zayn turned to Niall.

"I know, I know. Take it easy until Harry's done with Europe and Africa," Niall said.

Zayn nodded. "You've an extra five hour window according to their time. You can finish up the east coast if you want but make sure you circle back at the right time to be spotted. And don't forget about Hawaii! That's still in your territory, even though it's out in the middle of the ocean."

"Got it," Niall confirmed before jogging off to the last carriage. "Evening, Donner! Blitzen! Hopefully we'll get some clear skies tonight, yeah?" The horses nodded in agreement and made their way to the runway without any prompting from Niall.

After their take-off, someone started playing music in the square and everyone broke up into groups, chatting and laughing loudly. Zayn sighed and Liam glanced over to see him slump a bit.

"Well, that was exhausting. Come on, I want to get something to eat," Zayn said, gesturing for Liam to follow him. So he did, biting back his questions while they weaved through the crowd. It was slow going, as people seemed to keep wanting to stop Zayn to congratulate him and ask him how he had done one thing or another. Liam found it hard to keep up with the conversations as he had no idea what they were talking about. He just clutched Loki's food dish and his leash, worried that they were going to get separated in the crowd.

Eventually, they made it into a pub and were shown to a table in a quiet corner. Zayn spoke lowly to the host and soon, steaming bowls of soup and a hearty meal of roast chicken and mashed potatoes were set down in front of them.

Liam inhaled deeply and his mouth watered; he didn't realize he was hungry until the aroma hit him.

The two of them tucked into their meals in comfortable silence, too hungry to be bothered with small talk.

When they were down to tearing pieces of their rolls to sop up the dredges of their soups, Zayn sat back. "You must have a lot of questions."

Liam nodded, glad for the opening. "I do! What is this place? What are you guys? Were the others Santa? What are they doing?" Liam stopped when Zayn laughed and held up a hand.

"Wait, wait, wait. One question at a time. So...I guess Louis probably told you that we're not humans?"

Liam nodded. "He and Niall said you were Elves."

"That's right. This is our little village."

"How come no one knows about Elves? Are there more of you?"

"Yeah, we're scattered all over the world but most of our communities are hidden away. Some people have found us but only when they really needed to. Like Harry's mum - she came to us years and years ago. She was being forced into a marriage with an older guy whose five previous wives had all died mysteriously." At Liam's frown, Zayn nodded. "Sketchy, right? Anyway, so she ran off into the woods and then got lost and ended up at our gates. She couldn't go back home, so she stayed with us. Then she met Harry's father, and well, you know." Zayn made a vague hand gesture but Liam figured he knew what he meant.

Liam nodded. "And what Louis, Niall, and Harry were doing...?"

Zayn sighed and shook his head with a look of fondness. "That's Louis' fault. A couple hundred years ago, when we were all younger, Louis had decided to prank the kids in the neighboring human village. So he and Niall went out in the middle of the night and swapped out presents from one house with those from another. They got through a couple of houses and then they got caught by some kids looking for mid-night snacks." Zayn chuckled. "Louis panicked, apparently, and threw a handful of dream powder at them and made up some story about them bringing the gifts they wanted but which their parents couldn't get. The kids bought it, luckily, but spread the story the next morning. My father was _pissed_. He said that if they wanted to give gifts to human children that badly, they could keep doing it every year for all the children in the world. I got pulled in to help because they didn't know how they could pull that off. And because I make bad choices with friends. Harry joined them when he was old enough. And then over time, the whole village pitched in. It became kind of a fun tradition for everyone."

"So that's how the Santa Claus myth started?" Liam asked with some disbelief.

"That's how it started. Louis and Niall were wearing thick red winter coats with fur lining - pretty similar to the ones they got tonight."

"But the beard and the big belly...?"

Zayn shrugged. "Stories get distorted when they're told over and over. Somehow, two skinny young elves became an old fat man in the retelling. It might also do with the dream powder, I suppose."

"And the milk and cookies thing?"

"That was Niall. When the kids caught them, he was drinking a cup of milk and eating some cookies he had found in a jar. Niall's always hungry."

"And the reindeer?"

"Horses. We _could_ go and find some reindeer but our horses know what they're doing. We just make some antlers and stick it on them. They love being part of the Christmas story for humans."

"Wow."

Zayn smiled. "Interesting story?"

"Kind of mind blowing, actually," Liam admitted. Then something that Zayn had said off-handedly caught his attention, "Wait, your father...?"

Zayn looked thoughtful for a second. "He's the...I guess you'd say King?" Zayn seemed to consider whether this was the right word or not but finally nodded. "Yeah, the King."

"Your father is the King of Elves?!" Liam hissed, looking around. He didn't see any additional security around, though. "So you're the prince? What are you doing sitting in a pub and doing all that work with the horses and the presents?"

"What else would I be doing?" Zayn asked with raised brows.

"I don't know. Princely things!"

"But anything I want to do would be considered princely, wouldn't they? Because I'm the prince."

"I -" Liam shook his head, unable to fault that logic right now.

"Can I ask a question now?" Zayn asked, leaning forward.

"Sure. I've asked you tons of stuff already."

"What's the human world really like? I've snuck out a couple of times to go to the movies but I don't think those give a good enough idea."

"Hmm," Liam started, trying to think of how he could sum up the entirety of human existence in a short blurb. "There's tons of different types of people, all doing very different things with sometimes very different goals." Zayn looked dissatisfied with that answer and Liam grimaced. "Sorry, that was a bad explanation."

"Maybe that was too general of a question. Why don't you tell me what it's been like for you instead?"

So Liam did. For the next several hours, he shared stories of his childhood and what it was like growing up with two older sisters and very few friends. He told Zayn about leaving to go to uni in the city and studying business. He told him about getting a job at a department store and working his way through school because his parents couldn't afford to pay his tuition. Through all of it, Zayn listened attentively and often asked for explanations about things, like what a 'uni' was and what a 'department store' was and why he needed to pay for education.

At one point, he mentioned reading comics and watching superhero movies and Zayn brightened up. His favorite movies to sneak out and watch were the ones about Batman, evidently. From there, the conversation shifted to talk about the Batcave and the Batmobile and all the gadgets that Batman used. Zayn admitted to wanting to make a Batmobile but not knowing enough about automobiles to make it work. He took the paintbrush from behind his ear and idly sketched out the bat signal and made a pin with it, which he offered to Liam with a small smile.

When the sky outside lightened, Liam sat up, shocked at how quickly time had passed. 

"They're probably back by now," Zayn said, standing up. "Come on. We can take a look at your car and get you back home."

Liam followed him out, surprised to see the pub still filled with elves. When they were near the door, they got pulled up short by what felt like an invisible tether. "What's this?" Liam asked in confusion, looking around.

Zayn sighed and pointed up. "Mistletoe."

Liam looked up and sure enough, there was a sprig of mistletoe hanging from one of the beams in the ceiling.

"Good luck if you do, bad if you don't," Zayn said with a grin as he used one hand to gently tilt Liam's head down and brushed his lips softly against his. It was over almost before Liam could register what was happening but he felt the warmth and taste of Zayn's lips linger on his even after they had made their way outside and back to the square.

Sure enough, Louis, Harry, and Niall had returned and were helping a couple of other elves get the horses detached from the carriages.

"Hey boys, everything go okay?" Zayn called out.

"Yup! No problems. Didn't even have to use the powder," Harry said, tossing said bag of powder over to Zayn, who pocketed it.

"Yeah, the shoes worked great. Didn't slow us down at all," Louis said. Behind him, Dasher and Comet nodded in agreement.

"Oh good," Zayn said with relief evident in his voice. To Liam, he explained, "Dasher and Comet are our fastest horses. We send them to Asia because they're our best bets for beating the clock. Otherwise, Louis would have to leave hours before the others and nothing would be ready."

Once all the horses were fed and groomed and sent on their way to rejoin the rest of their herd, the five of them and Loki headed out of the village and towards where Liam had left his car. When they got there, Liam popped the hood again and they all leaned in to examine the engine. Liam was dismayed to see that the others were just as lost, if not more so, than him.

"This isn't looking good, is it?" he asked.

"No worries. We'll get you back home," Zayn said reassuringly. "Here, why don't you get in and try to start it? Maybe we'll be able to see what's wrong with it then."

Liam let himself be guided into the driver's seat but when he went to put the key in the ignition, Zayn reached out one hand and stopped him. Liam looked up questioningly and got a face full of sparkly white dust. He sneezed reflexively a couple of times and the asked, "What -" and broke off in a huge yawn. Funny, he hadn't felt tired before but he suddenly could barely keep his eyes open. He felt Zayn squeeze his shoulder and plant a kiss on the edge of his lips.

"It's okay, Liam. When you wake up, you'll be home and you won't remember any of this. But I'm glad I met you."

"Wait...Zayn...what's..." he murmured, reaching up to grasp Zayn's hand but Zayn pulled it away gently, instead wrapping his fingers around a small metal object and setting his hand down on his lap.

He gave up on trying to keep his eyes open but still tried to stay awake. It was so hard, though. He felt himself drifting off into sleep but could hear Zayn and Louis talking distantly.

"You didn't bring him for Harry, did you?" Zayn was asking with a resigned tone. "You brought him for me."

"He's the guy you saw at the movies a couple of weeks ago, isn't he? The really fit one with the kind brown eyes? You wouldn't stop talking about him."

"That doesn't mean I wanted you to get him for me."

"I know. But you always do so much this time of year, I just thought it'd be nice for you to have some company while we were gone. Did you not have fun?"

"No, that's not it, Louis."

"So you did have fun." Louis sounded smug.

Zayn sighed again. "Yes, Louis, I did. Thanks, I guess."

There was some ruffling and then Louis said in a muffled voice, "You never know, he might be one of the ones who comes back."

If Zayn answered, Liam didn't hear him as he finally lost the fight to stay awake.

+

When Liam woke up, it was bright and sunny and he was parked outside of his parents' home in Wolverhamptom. He yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He must have been exhausted after the drive if he just fell asleep in the car instead of going inside first. He looked at his hand in surprise when he felt a small object in his grasp. He opened his hand to reveal a small Batman pin. He frowned, trying to remember when he had gotten it but nothing came to mind. He shrugged and pocketed it. Someone must have given it to him as he was leaving work yesterday.

He glanced back and saw Loki watching him patiently. He grinned. "Hey, buddy. You must have been bored, waiting for me to wake up from my nap, huh? Ready to go get some home cooking?"

Loki sat up and barked and Liam laughed. He was glad he had decided to make the trip out after all, even if it had required driving all night.

He got out and grabbed his bags from the trunk, frowning for a moment in puzzlement at what looked like a trail of horseshoe prints in the snow leading away from his car. "That's weird. Wonder who's riding around on a horse these days?" he muttered before giving a mental shrug. He let Loki out of the car and the two of them made their way up the driveway.

His parents and sisters were thrilled to see him and Loki. He was ushered in to the warmth of the house and sat in front of roaring fireplace where he was given a plate of breakfast and regaled with tales of last evening's festivities. He nodded and laughed along with everyone but the whole time, something seemed _off_ ; the scene felt surreal to him. For some reason, he kept thinking about sitting in a pub drinking soup. He shook off the niggling sense that he was forgetting something and focused on enjoying being with his family.

He got caught under the mistletoe in the doorway to the kitchen with his grandmother and laughingly planted a kiss on her cheek. As he stood back up, he had a sudden flashback of sparkling brown eyes and soft lips against his. The memory was gone as soon as it came, though.

That night, he dreamt of sitting across from a handsome guy in a pub with black hair tied back in a ponytail, smiling eyes, and a beautiful smile. The man turned his head and Liam could see that his ear ended in pointed tips. He seemingly pulled the Batman pin from nowhere and gave it to Liam. His mouth opened and Liam knew the two of them were talking about something but try as he might, he couldn't make out the words. When he woke up, all he could recall was a feeling of happiness and butterflies in his stomach.

The next couple of days went by in a similar way. His sisters teased him for daydreaming so often and asked him who he had met that was taking up so much of his thoughts. But Liam just blushed and stammered that he hadn't met anyone. Because he hadn't, had he?

But when he had unpacked the rest of his car, he found a dark blue food dish with Loki's name on it which he didn't remember buying. He had a flash of someone painting Loki's name on it and putting Loki's pawprint on it but couldn't see the person's face. Loki quite liked the bowl, though, and refused to eat out of anything else.

When he walked by the small ice rink in the park, he heard a snatch of conversation between two people debating about which skater was the better one but when he looked around, he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. And there wasn't anyone on the ice who fit the description of the skaters being discussed.

"I must be losing my mind," he muttered. Next to him, Loki looked up and whined. He smiled down in reassurance. "It's okay, boy, I'm just talking to myself."

He finally packed up and said his goodbyes early the next week. His mom asked him if he couldn't stay for a bit longer but Liam regretfully had to say no; he'd already missed several days of work and he needed to get back. But he promised he'd visit again and she sent him off with some frozen leftovers.

When he drove by a section of the woods along a deserted stretch of road, he followed an instinct and pulled over. It was still early enough that it was light out but he couldn't make out much beyond the tree line. However, Loki sat up and barked excitedly in the backseat so the two of them got out and gingerly picked their way inside. Loki seemed to know where he was going, so Liam let him lead the way, hearing a vaguely familiar voice in his head saying _"animals have a strong connection with the world and they know what's what."_

They eventually stumbled into a clearing and faced an elaborate gate. On the other side was a quaint village with cobblestoned streets lined by windowed shops and small restaurants. The buildings were made of stones of various colors; the shingled roofs were covered with a layer of soft white snow. Clusters of people made their way along the streets, chatting and pausing to look at the displays in the windows. Children scurried around, laughter loud and ringing in the air. Liam stepped up and the gate opened easily. No one seemed to take note of him entering. Walking along, he had a strong sense of deja vu but he didn't remember being here before and surely, he'd remember a place like this.

"Liam!" a familiar voice called out.

He looked up and saw a man with short brown hair and bright mischievous blue eyes making his way over through the crowd. He paused to wait for the other man, once again feeling a sense of deja vu. He looked familiar too. But not like the man he'd been dreaming about.

"Hey, you're back!" The other man threw an arm around Liam's shoulders and pulled him in for a quick hug then steered him deeper into the village. "I've got to take you to Zayn. I told him you'd be back!"

"Zayn?" Liam asked. The name sounded...right.

The other man nodded. "He's been busy with a new project, but he'll be thrilled to see you. How did you find your way back?"

"Um, well, it was Loki, mostly," Liam said, glancing down at where Loki was trotting happily by his side, wagging his tail and barking at passing children.

"Ah! Just like I said, dogs know what's what in the world. Didn't I tell you?"

"Yeah, guess you did."

The other man chattered on about the past couple of days - apparently after Christmas, it was mostly quiet and everyone took advantage of that to catch up on rest. They eventually made their way to one house that was similar to the others on its street, though perhaps a bit bigger and a bit more brightly lit. The other man knocked briskly once and then let them both in with a key.

"Zayn! Where are you? I've got a surprise!" he called out into the house.

"In the dining room, Louis!" Liam held his breath in surprise. This was the man in his dreams, he was sure of it. And Louis, that was Zayn's friend who had shown him around and dressed up as Santa.

When he and Louis got to the dining room, he gasped, staring in wonder at the man - no, elf - in front of them who was currently hunched over a block of wood with his tongue sticking out in concentration as he used a thin paintbrush to draw a curved line along one edge of the block.

"Whatever it is Louis, you can just drop it off on the table. I'm a bit busy right now," the elf said.

Liam glanced over at Louis uncertainly but the elf just mimed a gesture of 'surprise!' with wide eyes and jazz hands. Liam rolled his eyes. "Hey Zayn," he said softly.

Zayn reacted as if he really had shouted _"Surprise!"_ and popped out of a cake, though. He jumped up, dropping his brush and turning wide eyes towards Liam. "Liam!" he gasped. "You're back!"

As soon as they made eye contact, Liam felt like a floodgate had opened and all the memories of his previous time here came rushing back and settled into place. He blinked once and shook his head, smiling brightly at the elf in front of him. "Yeah, I just felt like I needed to come back, you know?"

Zayn's grin widened.

"Ahem, not to break up this touching reunion but...." Louis broke in. When they both looked over, he gestured above them where he was holding out a sprig of mistletoe. 

Zayn groaned. "Louis, you bastard..."

"No, it's good, actually," Liam said hurriedly, gathering his courage. "I didn't get a chance to kiss you back last time."

"Oh?" Zayn asked with a mild blush.

"Yeah," Liam said, stepping up to him and cupping his cheek with one hand. "So now I can give you a proper kiss."

And as their lips met, he felt like he was coming home.


End file.
